Introducing Debian GNU/Linux:

The Interactive Operating System

Debian is a particular distribution of the GNU/Linux Operating System
(OS), with GNU/Linux probably being the best computer Operating System
in the world.

Debian is unique, because: (1) it is a non-commercial distribution,
produced by expert volunteers; and (2) it upholds the principles of free
software (for a definition of free software, see below).

Why Choose Debian?

Because, IMHO, Debian is the best distribution of GNU/Linux because
of its technical excellence - the way it is put together, and the way it
works. For example:

1) The install. This is entirely text based (Xserver configuration comes
later) and consists of two stages - the installation of the 'base system'
and, after a reboot, the installation of packages.

This two-stage process, and the required re-boot, is good - for it ensures
that you have a working system before attempting to install packages.

2) dselect and the Debian packaging system. dselect checks for
dependencies and automatically avoids installing packages which might conflict
with each other or ones already installed. Of course, dselect may seem
outdated to some people, used to the slick interfaces of another Operating
System - but it does encourage you to pause, to think, to learn how to
use it, and once learnt, it is very good. With dselect, you know what is
happening - watching the install process is a valuable learning experience.

The Debian packaging system itself ensures that upgrades can be made
without 'breaking the system' and the new apt method in dselect enables
upgrades to be made directly by ftp or from a web-site.

3) The Debian system is put together with knowledge, technical skill
and in a very understandable way. For example, system configuration files
are in /etc, with /usr/local reserved for packages installed by the user.

However, Debian is distinct from other distributions of GNU/Linux
in another way - it encourages the user to learn. That is, it does
not attempt to hide what is going on from the user and expects the user
to 'interact' with the OS. A good example of this occurs in the current
Slink 2.1 distribution where on login the user has the xconsole already
set up to show what the system is doing. With computers, we learn by making
mistakes, by trial and error, and one of the most important aspects of
GNU/Linux is the learning process.

In essence, the Debian distribution combines technical excellence with
that educational ethos which is an important part of the GNU/Linux Operating
System.

To those used to using slick 'user-friendly' interfaces where most things
are done by a single or double click of the 'mouse', GNU/Linux even today
seems complicated, with its xterminals where users often have to enter
commands. The trend in the GNU/Linux world is toward graphical interfaces,
with icons to click-on, in order to make GNU/Linux more accessible to those
used to using Microsoft (MS) Operating Systems- in effect, trying
to follow where MS Windows and MS NT have gone.

Debian has been slow to embrace this trend - for good reason. One of
the virtues of the GNU/Linux OS is that it encourages
and often requires the user to type in commands and maintain or alter the
OS in some way. This is because GNU/Linux is an educational OS -
or as I would express it, a true computer operating system: you, the user,
are in control, not the particular default configuration of some graphical
orientated and inherently inflexible program you have installed on
your system. Furthermore, with GNU/Linux you, the user, can and often must
interact with your system.

To try and change this, and so try and make GNU/Linux some sort of
imitation of MS Operating Systems, is wrong - it is destroying the relationship,
the interaction, which should exist between user, and the system.

This is not to say that such things as graphical user interfaces and
icons are wrong - only that they should and must be a happy medium between
usability and interaction.

What needs to be understood is that computers are not like other
machines, such as televisions or automobiles. They are in a class by themselves
because of the software that enables them to function. By its nature, this
software is dynamic, not static - it is a flow, a process of interaction
between the system and the user. The better the interaction, the better
the system.

The difference between GNU/Linux and the other software which goes by
the name of 'operating systems' is that GNU/Linux is both flexible,
and interactive, and that it can be changed by the tools which are an integral
part of it. This is the real and fundamental difference between free
software
and proprietary software - between GNU/Linux and programs like MS
Windows. Proprietary software is both restrictive (in copying terms) and
inflexible (in programming terms), and if such proprietary software can
be altered, it can be done only in the small ways the manufacturer specifies
or makes possible.

Furthermore proprietary software does not exploit the capability
of computers - it restricts computers by not allowing the user to properly
interface with the system: to see and understand what is going on, and
alter or change it if necessary or if desired.

The 'user friendliness' and the 'control' which proprietary software
uses to sell its products is actually an illusion - a negation of the freedom
and interaction which free software allows and encourages.

By choosing and using Debian GNU/Linux the user is not only choosing
freedom, and encouraging the development of better software, but also using
their system as it should be used - in an interactive way. This interaction
not only makes the system work better, but also educates the user.

"Free Software" refers to
the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the
software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of
the software: (0) The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom
0). (1) The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your
needs (freedom 1).
(2) The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
(freedom 2).
(3) The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements
to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3).

A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms. Thus,
you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or without modifications,
either gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to anyone anywhere. Being
free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not have
to ask or pay for permission.